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The gruelling 3.8km swim, 180.2km ride and a 42.1km run event on April 1 was held in conjunction with Australia’s National Ironman at Port Macquarie NSW, with all competitors vying for the added prize of a start at this year’s Hawaiian Ironman triathlon. Of the 25 Defence triathletes competing, Air Forces’s Cpl Geoff Hacknel stood out as the ADF’s strongest performer, finishing 15th overall and second in his 30-34 year old age group, which qualified him for a start at the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon. The start line to the swim in the mouth of the Hastings River saw 1600 triathletes jostling for position as the event got off to a 6am start, with Cpl Hanckel leading the field of ADSTA competitors out of the water and into the ride. In pursuit were OCdt Ben Monaghan, 10-time Ironman Australia finisher Wg-Cmdr Brock McKinlay and Leut-Cmdr Doug Griffiths. Battling a strong 30-knott head-wind and the renowned hills of Port Macquarie, competitors did it tough in the ride. During the ride, Cpl Hanckel extended his lead and began the marathon 21 minutes ahead of the ADSTA field. With Cpl Hanckel running strong, attention shifted to the battle for minor placings. Wg-Cmdr McKinlay and Leut-Cmdr Griffiths each produced strong rides; however, Maj Mike Johannes and Air Force’s Sgt Craig Ewen-Crawford remained in contention for second place passing OCdt Monaghan in the hills. Showing little regard for the 30 degree early afternoon heat, Leut-Cmdr Griffiths caught Wg-Cmdr McKinlay by the 5km mark and the two pushed each other to the limit as they worked together to maintain a fast pace. By the halfway mark in the run however, Leut-Cmdr Griffiths had pulled away from Wg-Cmdr McKinlay and was fighting to hold off strong challenges from Sgt Ewen-Crawford, the persistent Maj Johannes and the RAAF’s Cpl Dean Cook. As night fell, a southerly change brought rain, compounding the already harsh conditions at a time when competitors were utterly exhausted. A late surge from Sgt Ewen-Crawford kept Maj Johannes in fourth place, but was not enough to catch Leut-Cmdr Griffiths who held on to finish second behind Cpl Hanckel. Running at a 3hr 23min marathon pace, Cpl Cook was reeling in the leaders but simply ran out of track and finished fifth after passing seven fellow ADSTA competitors during the marathon. Among the women, Miss Jodie Barker lead from start to finish producing a strong swim and a 3hr 40min marathon which simply out classed the ADSTA women’s field. Capt Dell Madge found the crush of the swim start a real challenge exiting the swim 10 minutes slower than expected. Showing the resolve of a professional athlete, Capt Madge recovered to finish second behind Miss Barker and place fifth in her 35-39 year-old group. Reaping the rewards of her consistency across all three disciplines, ACW Wendy Holt rounded out the female ADSTA place getters in third. After just over 15 hours, the last of the ADSTA Ironman Team crossed the finish line. Notable achievements were OCdt Ben Monaghan who finished 13th in the 18-24 years age group, the ADSTA Team Captain Maj Jeff Rudd who finished 16th in the 50-54 years age group, WO2 Amanda Allan who finished her 8th Ironman triathlon and Wg-Cmdr Brock McKinlay who finished his 11th Ironman triathlon. The next event on ADSTA’s race calendar is on June 10. Personnel wishing to compete as part off the ADSTA team are to contact the team manager Flt-Lt Richard Gardiner onrichard.gardiner2@defence.gov.au. OFF THE BLOCKS Men: |
